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The Bible says

Maua's Column

Kenya Ni Noma

In the U.S. a machine that catches thieves was invented; they took it out to different countries for a test. In U.S.A, in 30 minutes, it caught 20 thieves; UK, in 30 minutes it caught 500 thieves; Spain, in 20 minutes it caught 25 thieves; Ghana, in 10 minutes it caught 6,000 thieves; Kenya, in 5 minutes the machine was stolen.

Sometime in 2004, the Daily Nation profiled the Yaaku, a tribe in Laikipia that is at the edge of extinction, with only about 10 people remaining, the rest (younger ones) choosing to identify as Maasai or (N?)Dorobo. The Dorobo apparently have a culture and language very similar to the Agikuyu. Mum once told me of a tribe called the Gumba that the Agikuyu displaced from around the Mt Kenya when they got there. I have no idea what became of them. One theory is that they too became Agikuyu. Then there is the Ogiek who inhabit the Mau Forest and are being persuaded to leave to preserve it for us all, the Suba who are close to the Luos, and the Njemps that I also read about.

To add to Hlumiti’s point, the number of tribes in Kenya may depend on who is doing the counting. There was a disagreement after the 2000 census as to which is the second largest tribe in Kenya. Someone had lumped several tribes into one, arguably to justify the inequitable distribution of resources, and for election-rigging purposes. The same hadn’t been done to the Luhyas and/or Mijikendas, which made them, look like many small tribes.

At the risk of sounding arrogant, are you sure there is a tribe called El Molo? I always took that to be a place (Molo) named by the Maasai pastoralists who have named many of the towns in Kenya, like Nyeri , Nairobi, El Doret (?-Eldoret) etc. Last time I went to Molo there were only Agikuyu and Wakalenjin.

Let me pop in from my reader and add my two cents.There are what we call a group of tribes that have some variations in the language hence getting lumped together into Maasai, Kalenjin, Mijikenda, Luhya....But this are genaralised groups. The tree from these are now the 'true' tribes.Let me assist with the Kalenjin that I can rememberNandi, Kipsigis, Pokot, Keiyo, Marakwet, Sabaot, Tugen.Am not sure about where the Turkana fall.Let me go back to following on reader, I feel like everyone is watching me :-)